1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tool attachment system for construction or demolition equipment which is adapted to be attached to a backhoe for attaching multiple tools, such as a cracker attachment, a pulverizing attachment, a wood shear attachment, an iron/rail cracker attachment, a grapple attachment or the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a single jaw set multiple tool attachment system in which the single jaw set includes a pair of movable jaws.
2. Background Information
The present application refers to demolition equipment; however, the equipment is also referred to as construction equipment, scrap handling equipment and the like. The description of demolition equipment, scrap handling equipment or construction equipment is not intended to be restrictive of the equipment being referenced. Demolition equipment, such as heavy-duty metal cutting shears, grapples and concrete crushers, have been mounted on backhoes powered by hydraulic cylinders for a variety of jobs in the demolition field. This equipment provides for the efficient cutting and handling of scrap.
In the dismantling of an industrial building, metal scrap in the form of various diameter pipes, structural I-beams, channels, angles, sheet metal plates and the like, must be efficiently severed and handled by heavy-duty metal shears. Such metal shears can also be utilized for reducing automobiles, truck frames, railroad cars and the like. The shears must be able to move and cut the metal scrap pieces regardless of the size or shape of the individual scrap pieces and without any significant damage to the shears. In demolition of an industrial building, concrete crackers are also used to reduce the structure to manageable components, which can be easily handled and removed from the site. Wood shears and plate shears also represent specialized cutting devices, which are useful in particular demolition or debris removal situations, depending on the type of scrap. Further, a grapple is often utilized where handling of debris or work pieces is a primary function of the equipment. Historically, all of these pieces of equipment represent distinct tools having significant independent capital cost. Consequently, the demolition industry has tended to develop one type of tool associated with each body.
U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 35,432 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,378 disclose heavy-duty metal cutting shears having a pair of movable jaws. U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,775 further discloses a metal cutting shear with a pair of movable jaws pivotally mounted to a frame and operable off of a common piston. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,838,493; 4,980,798; 5,044,569; 5,636,802; and 5,738,289 all disclose a variety of concrete crushers having a plurality of movable jaws and operable through hydraulic cylinders. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,903,408; 5,044,568; 5,199,658; 5,243,761; and 5,626,301 also disclose a variety of demolition equipment having a plurality of movable jaws.
The prior art does not provide a system for easily changing tools or a system which allows separate tools to efficiently share a common structure.